Tuesday, November 04, 2008

I hope none of you have been looking to this blog as a source for news regarding the presidential election, as I tend to write about politics with a focus on military matters. I exhaustively covered the GI Bill issue, and I've touched on foreign policy a number of times when it pertains to the United States military. But tonight in an AoD first, I'd like to hear your thoughts on what it means for the future of active duty military and veterans when one man is elected president tonight - Barack Obama or John McCain, either through the lens of domestic policy or foreign policy. I'll be sitting here with plenty of Blue Moon on hand to witness history.

17 comments:

We won't have a military under the Messiah....we probably won't have much national defense at all. But, we won't have any poor people (or rich people), healthcare will be free, and we will all have snack lunches with those silly terrorists.

Hi Alex,I think President-elect Obama will have his hands full trying to figure out what to do in Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and the generally scary Middle East. There is no "quick-fix" answer and it seems that even those soldiers who have served in both wars (OEF/OIF) are divided on the best way to resolve the conflict. Our overburdened and underfunded military is another pot that is waiting to boil over and should play a crucial roll in any decisions regarding the continued deployment of troops overseas.

I want all of our troops to be able to come home and stop fighting "the war on terrorism" ASAP! Can Obama figure out how to do that? "YES, WE CAN?" I'm not so sure.

The hole is deep and dark. How far will we let our soldiers fall? How long before we pull them out?

I don't really know a lot about this issue, despite reading your blog for a while now.

I think that Bush, however, didn't have respect for the fact that he sent sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters.....into harms way. During the Bush administration, I felt like he viewed the military as a tool, not a collective of people. And that bothered me.

I don't think Obama will approach it the same way. I hope more people come home alive and well.

Alex,It has been a while since I have visited your blog. I saw a picture of some troops in Afghanistan watching the election returns. It reminded me that I should check and see what you have been up to. Also, I thought that you might want to see this picture. It tugged at my heart. http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m292/soonersusan1954/ObamaAfghan.jpg

America's foreign policy will not change under Obama. We have 14 permanent bases and the largest American base in Iraq, Americans will be there for a long time no matter who sits on the throne. Obama wants a larger military and wants to pursue his own war, Afghanistan. Ask the Russians why Afghanistan is called the grave of empires. If anyone thinks this marks the end to 15+ month deployments, you got another thing coming. Washington continues to push Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Syria, Venezuela, North Korea, and others into corners. You should be preparing for longer deployments 'cause they're surely going to need more meat for the grinder.

Autzen - Haven't you heard? Victory was declared in Iraq, by the Stars & Stripes anyway. And your family can keep their guns, just like I'm keeping mine. There has been no indication of stronger gun control laws that would take guns out of the hands of anybody.

This blog was created by a veteran of the United States Army and in no way should be taken to reflect the sensibilities of the Department of Defense, The Department of Veterans Affairs or any other credible organization.